Juan Cole: Al-Anbar Residents approve of Sunni withdrawal

Al-Anbar Residents approve of Sunni withdrawal
Juan Cole
Sunday, August 05, 2007


Remember all that reporting about "progress" against "al-Qaeda" in al-Anbar Province? But for Sunni Arab Iraqis to hate the foreign Salafi fighters is not strange, and it says nothing about al-Anbar's relationship to the Shiite government in Baghdad. al-Hayat writing in Arabic reports that its interviewees in al-Anbar wholeheartedly supported the withdrawal of the Iraqi Accord Front (Sunni fundamentalist) from the Baghdad government. They characterized the move as "deserting a sinking ship."

Iraq's electricity grid is on the verge of collapsing. Baghdad, the capital, is getting only one or two hours a day in the midst of a torrid summer. The Shiite holy city of Karbala has suffered without electricity for three days, which has also led to it lacking water. Karbala's merchants depend on Shiites coming on pilgrimage to the city, and lack of water and electricity discourages this pilgrim trade, costing the city its income.

About a third of Iraqis also lack access to clean water, a situation that will contribute to high infant mortality (small children die easily of dehydration caused by diarrhea) and potentially to the outbreak of diseases dangerous to adults, as well.


Reuters details political violence for Saturday.


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